1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to golfing, and more particularly to methods and devices for improving putting.
2. Discussion of the Background
One of the biggest challenges in the game of golf is putting, not because the putting stroke is particularly difficult to master, but because golf greens all have unique surface shapes which cause the ball to turn, or break, in seemingly unpredictable amounts and directions as it rolls towards the hole. Additionally, the amount of break a putt experiences is conditional on green speed (a measure of frictional resistance of a ball rolling on a green, commonly measured by the Stimpmeter and called the “stimp”) which is not consistent for all courses, or even on the same course within the time period that the round is played. Green speeds can change during the day as the grass dries out and begins to grow after the morning mowing. For example, a putt that breaks 6 inches on a green measuring 8 on the stimpmeter, may break 14 inches—more than twice as much—when the green speed measures at 12. The faster the green speed, the more a particular putt will break.
Arising from this challenge is the discipline of green reading—the ability to determine how much a putt will break and therefore where the golfer must aim it so that the golf ball falls in the hole. Due to the relative subtly of the slope found around a typical hole on a golf green (1%-3% grade), human visual processes are not well equipped at determining both direction and amount of such slopes, and therefore of the break of the putt. There are also many visual illusions which can give the golfer unreliable interpretations of the uphill vs. downhill directions.
Golf green reading devices address this issue but are primarily designed to mechanically show a golfer the direction and degree of slope of a golf green, and do not translate that information into how much break the putt will experience. U.S. Pat. No. 4,260,151 uses a plumb bob device to indicate the slope of the green, and U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,386,994, 6,095,933, 5,755,623, 5,476,258, and 5,209,470 utilize bubble levels to indicate the direction and/or amount of slope, but again do not provide the golfer with what he really needs, which is the amount of break to play for any given putt. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,082,286 and 5,330,179 also use a spirit level to gauge the amount of slope and then translate that into an offset distance which would estimate the amount of break of the putt. Stenger (U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,083) discloses an electrical level detector that will compute an offset distance after taking at least two measurements on the green. However, the USGA Rules of Golf section 14-3 forbid the use of any and all of these artificial measuring devices during play (plumb bobs and levels), so they can only be used during practice sessions and are of limited use to the golfer.
Golfers putting on golf greens are faced with the challenge of determining the curvature of the path of a putted golf ball before they strike it, but currently have no reliable method, approved by the USGA Rules of Golf, of predicting the amount of break the ball will experience.
All patents, patent applications, provisional applications, and publications referred to or cited herein, or from which a claim for benefit of priority has been made, are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety to the extent they are not inconsistent with the explicit teachings of this specification.